THANKS FOR THE SUPPORT, GUYS. WOW, THAT EPISODE… JUST WOW.
DON'T OWN IT.
Emma composed herself long enough to call Mary Margaret. She picked up on the first ring.
"Hello?"
"Can you come down to the station?"
"Emma, is everything okay?" The brunette's voice was laced with concern.
"Graham isn't." She fought back more tears. "He's dead."
"Oh my God. I'll be right there. Are you going to be okay until I get there?" Mary Margaret grabbed her keys off the counter and all but ran down the stairs.
"What choice do I have?" With that, Emma hung up.
Mary Margaret ran into the station.
"Emma!"
"In here." She replied.
"Oh my God. Oh my God." Mary Margaret's hands flew up to her mouth. "What happened?"
"I think it was a heart attack." Emma said, her voice wavering again. Mary Margaret looked over to her with concern. The blonde just couldn't ever get a break, could she?
"What should we do?"
"I'd say call the police, but I am the police." Emma said. "Except I'm a better bail bonds person, so I don't know what to do with a homicide."
"Homicide? But you were the only one who could've murdered him, you were the only one with him." Mary Margaret was very confused.
"Regina probably poisoned him or something." Emma grumbled.
"Now Emma, don't think like that. I agree she's not the best person in the world, but you
can't judge someone until you know the whole story." Mary Margaret adopted her teacher voice.
"All you people in this town are too nice." Emma said, pulling out her cell phone.
"What're you doing?"
"Calling Madame Mayor." Emma replied bitterly.
"What-why?"
"I don't know what she wants me to do about this."
"Are you sure that's a good idea? What if you hit her again?" Mary Margaret asked.
"First, she started it. Second, so what if I hit her? Graham had to pull me off her, so the only one who should be worried is her. Lastly, how did you find out?"
"It's a small town." Mary Margaret shrugged, a ghost of a smile on her face.
"Who told you?" Said Emma.
"Henry."
"Henry knows!"
"He saw Mayor Regina's lip… and guessed it was you because you're the only one crazy enough to punch her." Mary Margaret explained.
"I'll give him one thing. The kid's smart. Okay, here goes nothing." Emma hit talk, and put it on speaker, just so Mary Margaret could hear.
"Yes, Ms. Swan?" Regina answered.
"We have a body at the station. Victim's name is Graham." Emma said evenly, somehow keeping the fury and pain out of her voice.
"What do you want me to do about it? You're the Deputy." Regina said.
"Graham never told me what to do with a body. Apparently, there weren't ever any unattended deaths in Storybrooke." Emma snapped. She really wasn't in the mood for this right now.
"Unless you killed him, it wasn't murder." Regina said.
"Of course." The blonde did her best to keep the hatred out of her voice. She would've loved to tell the mayor her theory surrounding Graham's death, but she couldn't even make a case.
"You didn't kill him, did you?"
"Seriously, Regina, I'm not in the mood for this! Graham was like a father to Henry. I wouldn't kill someone he obviously valued so much." The man I loved, she silently added. Finally, the weight of her decision crushed Regina. She now realized she had killed Henry's only father figure, and the man she thought she had loved. In her fit of rage, she had lost yet another battle to Emma Swan. Henry might never forgive her for what she did.
"Ms. Swan, please call the hospital and they'll send a coroner out. We'll talk again when you get the autopsy results." With that, Regina hung up.
"She seemed… nice." Mary Margaret said, with a bewildered look on her face.
Emma shrugged. "I made her realize that she killed Henry's 'father'" Emma put air quotes around father. "Mary Margaret, you should go. You don't need to be here, and it's late."
"No way." The brunette shook her head. "You're not okay. You called me for a reason. I'm not going." An unusual determination shown in her eyes. Emma figured it was nothing. What she didn't know was that it was protectiveness.
"I'm fine. I was a little shaken up, but I'm fine now." Her wall was back up, stronger than ever.
"I'll compromise. I'll wait in the car, then I'm driving you home. The last thing you need is to get drunk and have a hangover tomorrow. You'll need to be in tip-top shape to deal with Mayor Regina." Mary Margaret said.
"Stop doing that." Emma whined with an annoyed look plastered on her face.
"Doing what?"
"Acting like my mom."
"Sorry. So, I'll be in the car."
"Fine." Emma pouted. "But I'm not driving with you. You can tail me."
"That wasn't in the agreement, Emma."
"The last thing people need to see is the to-be-Sheriff getting driven home." Emma said.
"Ok. Ok. See you in a bit."
20 minutes later, Mary Margaret saw a body in a black bag being clumsily rolled out on a gurney. It was now that she realized the coroners never had to get a body. A few minutes later, Emma came out.
"Are you sure you're okay to drive?" Mary Margaret asked one more time.
"Yeah." Emma replied. She slammed her car door for good measure. The brunette rubbed her temples. This was going to be a long night.
They got back to the apartment a little after 12:30. She opened the door for Emma, just to make sure she didn't slam that one, too. It would wake the neighbors. The gesture's purpose was defeated, when Emma ran up the stairs making a racket, then closed her door with a lot more force than necessary. Mary Margaret sighed. She immediately put the water on for hot chocolate. Then she heard things shattering and bangs. She sighed again, and quietly walked up and knocked on her roommate's door.
"Emma, what's going on?"
"Nothing."
"Emma." Mary Margaret said sternly, and opened the door. The room looked like a tornado had gone through it, but she honestly wasn't too surprised. "Are you looking for something?"
"No."
"Then why does it look like World War III in here?" She stepped into the tiny room, and took note of the glass on the floor. "Okay, that's it. You're going downstairs. You're going to cut yourself on the glass."
"I'm wearing socks." Emma protested.
"Emma, come on."
"No." Finally, she turned to face her. Mary Margaret saw her disheveled hair and tearstained cheeks, and guided the taller woman into a tight embrace. Emma stiffened at first, then relaxed.
"Emma, it's going to be okay." Mary Margaret said.
"We were about to kiss… and she ruined it." Emma said.
"You can't know that."
"He was healthy! People like him don't just keel over!" Emma pulled back.
"We'll know more when the autopsy is done. For now, how about some hot chocolate and bed?" Mary Margaret smiled at her.
"Fine."
Mary Margaret didn't know that Emma cried herself to sleep that night. But she also didn't know that she made Emma's world so much better, just by being there for her.